We are looking for an Assistant Professor or Associate Professor (depending on track record of the candidate), who can strengthen our position in the field of Evolutionary Plant Eco(physio)logy, with an emphasis on global change biology. The new staff member is expected to set up an independent research line within this field, complementary to ongoing eco(physio)logical research in the institute. The successful candidate is expected to take an evolutionary, integrative approach to address their research questions, and develop a strong research programme in plant biology at the organismal level, focusing on the adaptive traits enabling plants to cope with changing conditions. With this profile the candidate is expected to develop a group that can successfully apply for competitive funding from topical programs of the Dutch Science Council, national initiatives for circular agriculture, regional programmes for sustainability of agriculture (e.g. Fryslân Kenniscentrum for Salinisation) and participate in EU consortia on sustainable agriculture or urban ecology.
The successful candidate’s work should provide linkage to other ongoing research in the institute (such as in the expertise groups Conservation Ecology, GREEN, TRES or others, including the GBB institute) and will engage in supervision of individual research projects of students at the BSc, MSc and PhD level.
At the BSc level, the candidate will participate in teaching for students in Biology and Life Science and Technology. Courses in the current curriculum with a plant biology component are: Ecophysiology of Plants and Animals, Evolutionary Ecology, Systems Ecology, Ecological Interactions, Conservation Ecology, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Biotechnology, and Marine Biology.
As Assistant/Associate Professor you will:
- set up and develop your own research line and research group
- supervise PhD students
- acquire external funding
- promote the societal relevance of your research
- teach in and contribute to the development of the degree programmes, e.g. in Biology, Ecology & Evolution, Biotechnology and/or others
- contribute to the organization of the faculty, for example by participating in working groups and committees, in the domains of teaching, research and management.
At the stage of Assistant Professor 60% of your time is for research, 30% for teaching activities and 10% for organizational tasks. At the stage of Associate professor 40% of your time is for research, 40% for teaching activities and 20% for organizational tasks.
Qualifications
We encourage you to apply if you have:
- a PhD degree in Plant Ecophysiology or a related field
- at least two years of postdoctoral experience outside of the Netherlands, preferably in a different country than where you received your PhD (can be compensated for after the appointment via extended research visits abroad), and a relevant international network
- excellent research qualities, as shown by a publication record in international peer-reviewed journals and proceedings of renowned conferences
- a good track record in teaching, appropriate to your career stage
- a good track record in acquisition of external funding, appropriate to your career stage
- demonstrable organizational competences
- good command of spoken and written English.
And you are:
- a team player with good communication skills
- able to acquire substantial research grants from external sources
- willing to obtain a University Teaching Qualification (Dutch: BKO) within three years
- able to work well in an international, culturally diverse, environment
- able to speak the Dutch language or motivated to speak it within five years
- for associate professors: an inspiring supervisor with convincing leadership competences and a good track record in PhD supervision.
Organisation
The University of Groningen is a research university with a global outlook, deeply rooted in Groningen, City of Talent. Quality has been our top priority for over four hundred years, and with success: the University is currently in or around the top 100 on several influential ranking lists.
The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) is the largest faculty within the University. We offer first-rate education and research in a wide range of science and engineering disciplines, from classical disciplines such as mathematics, astronomy and mechanical engineering, to interdisciplinary fields such as artificial intelligence, pharmacy and evolutionary life sciences. Our community has an open and informal character with students and staff from around the world.
The position we offer will be embedded in the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES). GELIFES fills a special niche in the field of life sciences as its research not only covers mechanistic, evolutionary and ecological approaches, but also specifically aims at the integration of these fields that are traditionally studied in isolation. Thus our research provides a better understanding of fundamental biological processes. The institute is coordinating one of the four Faculty strategic themes called Adaptive Life. This programme specifically addresses the growing realization that proximate and ultimate approaches need each other in order to make firm progress in understanding and predicting adaptation in a wide array of systems, requiring an integration of neurobiological, physiological, behavioural, ecological and evolutionary perspectives.
Conditions of employment
We offer you, depending on your career stage, a full-time position as Assistant Professor or Associate Professor in our faculty’s tenure track system Career Paths in Science and:
- a salary, depending on qualifications and work experience, from € 3,821 (scale 11) up to a maximum of € 5,943 (scale 12) gross per month for a full-time position as Assistant Professor or from € 5,294 (scale 13) up to a maximum of € 7,079 (scale 14) gross per month for a full-time position as Associate Professor, in line with the CAO of the Dutch Universities
- holiday allowance and end-of-year bonus of respectively 8% and 8.3% of your yearly salary
- a pension scheme
- maternity and parental leave
- the possibility to work part-time (0.9 FTE or 0.8 FTE)
- a mentor program and a broad range of opportunities for personal development
- dual career support for partners of new faculty members moving to Groningen.
As Assistant Professor you will enter a tenure track that, if followed successfully, will lead to a Full Professorship in approximately 10 years. In case of a full-time contract, you will initially be appointed for 7 years and your performance will be assessed after 5 years. This moment may be extended with at most one year in case of a life event (e.g. prolonged illness or maternity leave). If your assessment is positive, you will get a tenured appointment as an Associate Professor.
4 to 7 years after being appointed as Associate Professor you will be assessed for promotion to the position of Full Professor.
Application
We invite you to submit a complete application including:
- a cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position
- a curriculum vitae, including
o a list of your publicationso from this a list of five self-selected ‘best papers’
o your ORCID and/or ResearcherID
o a list of grants awarded including year, your role (single applicant, lead applicant or co-applicant) and the amount involved
o summary of teaching experience: course name, number of students, course level (BSc/MSc/PhD) and your role (e.g. coordinator/developer, lecturer, examiner, teaching assistant)
o summary of supervision experience: number of BSc/MSc/PhD students and postdocs, and your role (main supervisor, cosupervisor, daily supervisor, examiner)
- a statement of your teaching goals and experience (teaching statement)
- a description of your scientific interests and plans (research statement)
- a list with names of references, complete with title and contact information.
You may apply for this position until 15 May 11:59pm / before 16 May 2022 Dutch local time (CET) by means of the application form (click on “Apply” below on the advertisement on the university website).
The selection interviews will take place in the second half of June 2022.
The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply.
We provide career services for partners of new faculty members moving to Groningen.
Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated.
Information
For information you can contact:
- Prof. R. Etienne, Chair of the selection committee, +31 (0) 50 3632230, gelifes-director@rug.nl
- Prof. Theo Elzenga, Plant Ecophysiology group, +31 50 3632307, j.t.m.elzenga@rug.nl
Please do not use the e-mail address(es) above for applications.
Additional information
- Profile report in which the position is described in more detail
- More information about the research institute
- Career Paths in Science